Tribological Performance of a Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation-Coated Mg Alloy in Graphene-Incorporated Ethanol

Abstract

This study investigated the friction and wear characteristics of a plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO)-coated Mg–Al alloy (AZ31) in sliding contact against steel using graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) containing ethanol as a lubricant. The results revealed that the typically high coefficient of friction (COF) of PEO-coated surfaces under dry sliding (0.74) was notably reduced to 0.18 during the sliding tests conducted in GNP-free ethanol. When the ethanol contained 5 × 10−4 wt.% GNPs, the COF of the uncoated AZ31 alloy further dropped to 0.17. The PEO-coated surfaces achieved a significantly lower COF of 0.07 and demonstrated a marked reduction in wear rate, attributed to the formation of a tribolayer incorporating graphene. These findings highlight the significant potential of GNP-incorporated ethanol to improve the tribological performance of PEO-coated AZ31, presenting a promising avenue for advancing lightweight, sustainable, and efficient automotive technologies.